I didn’t realize when I read this book that it was the third in the series. No worries. I was able to understand what was going on and I loved the book. In fact, I think I’ll read the two books that preceded this one sometime. They are Mastermindsand Masterminds:Criminal Destiny. In this book, four of the kids from Project Osiris are on the run and trying to find answers. It’s not that easy though. The Purple People Eaters (that’s what they call the people from Project Osiris) are looking for them. This leads to some pretty scary stuff – jumping onto the top of a moving RV – stealing a boat – living with a mob boss. You’ll have to read to find out how it turns out. What would you do if you found out you were a clone (of a criminal) and your whole life had been a lie?

“‘It’s the craziest feeling. I remember how to remember, but when I actually try to do it, I’m a blank. I’m like a computer with its hard drive wiped clean. You can reboot it and the operating system works fine. But when you look for a document or file to open, nothing’s there.

What if you couldn’t remember your whole life – all thirteen years of it? What if people acted really strange when they were near you, like almost afraid of you? What if you found out that you were responsible for doing some really awful things? What if you weren’t that person any more and had a second chance to be better? That’s what happened to Chase. The new Chase wouldn’t dream of doing the things the old Chase did. The new Chase has made friends with some of the very people he bullied in the past. But – has he really changed? Can he make the right decisions? Will he make the most of his second chance? You’ll have to read to find out. I loved everything about this story. It will make you laugh and it will make you mad. I was rooting for Chase, will you be?

“You’d have to be nuts to trust a magician. I learned that lesson the hard way. And then, if you can believe it, I actually became a magician’s assistant. That part was the Rainbow Girl’s fault, but the rest of it I blame on a little dog named Flip.”

I loved this story – for a lot of reasons. First, it had a dog in it. I absolutely adore dogs and Flip is special. He can listen when kids read books to him – and he actually looks interested. Second, the story shows that when bad things happen, you can still survive, that there are always options. A good attitude goes a long way to help. Third, it made me laugh out loud. Ben Coffin is one funny guy and his friend Halley (like the comet) is equally entertaining. Ben and Halley are the kind of people who keep a positive attitude even when things aren’t looking so good. Another reason I love this book, one of the good guys in the story is a librarian who keeps homemade chocolate chip cookies on her desk and she’s pretty cool. I’m a librarian and I love cookies so I have lot in common with her. Plus, she’s Halley’s mom and I’m a mom so I can relate. Most likely, if you’re reading this, you’re a kid, and I think you just might relate to Ben and Halley and all that they are experiencing. This book will make you laugh and it will make you cry. I highly recommend it. If you want to know more, watch the book trailer below created by Heartland Media Center. They did a great job book talking this book. Enjoy!

“The problem with having a story like this is people don’t know what to do with it. Their faces get super sad and their shoulders slump as they pat me on the head, which I find irritating and say. ‘My, you are a little survivor, aren’t you?’”

There are a few things that you need to know about Jeremy Lopper. First, he is probably 12 years old. The other things you should know about him are that he was left at a water cooler in an office building with a note and a stuffed eagle when he was a baby. He was found by a single man named Walt, a computer genius, who later adopted him. The other thing you need to know is that Jeremy has had a heart transplant, and his new heart, that he has affectionately named Alice, is not working as great as everyone would have hoped. Lastly, Walt and Jeremy love baseball!

Walt and Jeremy move to a small town where Walt has a consulting job. This town is all about baseball and Walt and Jeremy can’t wait to get there. When they arrive however, all is not as they had planned. There is an unexplained death and some unexpected secrets that surface which are tearing the town apart.

Here’s the most important thing you need to know about Jeremy though- he has THE BEST ATTITUDE about life and baseball. Will it be enough to help this town? Read this book to find out what happens to the town, baseball, Jeremy and Walt.

“‘Adjudicated delinquent. I had to look up how to spell that.Three times. I don’t feel like a delinquent and I don’t know what adjudicated means (even after looking it up). Sounds like a kung fu move. I adjudicated you in your face! HI-YA”

Did you ever do something wrong but for the right reason? I mean, something really wrong? Was it worth it? Would you do it again? Timothy (aka T-man) did and he has to write about it and his feelings in a journal for a year while he’s under house arrest. This book is written entirely in journal entries. It will make you laugh and it will make you cry. I highly recommend it. Read it and let me know what you think 🙂

“My birthday is the one day of the year that we’re both most acutely aware of my illness. It’s the acknowledgement of the passage of time that does it. Another whole year of being sick, no hope for a cure on the horizon. Another year of missing all the normal teenagery things – learner’s permit, first kiss, prom, first heartbreak, first fender bender. Another year of my mom doing nothing but working and taking care of me.“

From School Library Journal (Courtesy of Amazon.com):

Gr 10 Up—From the first page, Madeline Whittier is a sympathetic character who has had to watch the world from the inside of a bubble—literally. Her diagnosed condition of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency is a life sentence that limits her to a world of two people: her mother, who is a doctor, and her nurse. Everything changes when Olly and his family move into the house next door. Olly is the kind of inventive guy who figures out a way to communicate with Madeline, and over the course of the next few months Madeline becomes Maddy, a young woman who takes potentially deadly risks to protect Olly emotionally, if not physically. Maddy’s and Olly’s hastily planned trip to Maui and their tastefully described liaison while there suggests a mature teen audience, but readers of Cammie McGovern’s Say What You Will (HarperCollins, 2014) and Wendy Mills’s Positively Beautiful (Bloomsbury, 2015) will fall in love with this humorously engaging story of a girl who discovers life, love, and forgiveness in new places. VERDICT Everything, Everything is wonderful, wonderful.—Jodeana Kruse, R. A. Long High School, Longview, WA

“Everything. This whole school. The team. Sometimes it seems like it’s all just fake. Like a pretend world. Like we’re something better than all the dregs. Isn’t that what Coach tells us? That we’re better than everybody else?”

It all started when Brett’s (aka Stick’s) teammates dropped raw eggs on a fellow classmate. It was just a guy Stick didn’t even know but it started him thinking about a lot of things – like the football team thinking they were better than everyone else – like his coach who was always yelling at them – like his Dad who drinks too much and only focuses on Stick’s mistakes on the field, not any of the good things he does. The team is headed for the state championship. Scouts are looking at Stick and he’s sure to get a college scholarship to play football and then eventually play in the NF. What does all this thinking do for Stick? He quits – quits the team and football – the game he has loved for so many years. Imagine his teammates reaction? Imagine his coach’s reaction? Imagine his Dad’s reaction? Now imagine an unlikely friendship with the kid who got the eggs dropped on him who also happens to be a superhero at night. You’ve got to read this book to see how it turns out? This is a story about being true to yourself. I loved it!

“‘I’m not exactly sure when I first started seeing the numbers. My earliest memories are filled with snatches of familiar and unfamiliar faces, each with a set of small black digits floating like shadows just above their foreheads.“

Maddie can see numbers on people’s foreheads. She can see them if she gets close enough. She can see them in a photo. The first time she knew what those numbers really meant was the day her father died. That’s when she knew she was seeing the person’s death date. After her father died, her mother started drinking – heavily – and lost her job. To make extra money, her mom hires Maddie out reading death dates for people. This has gotten her the title of witch at school. She has one true friend – Stubby – who stands by her no matter what. Things start to go really bad when Maddie predicts the death date of a boy who goes missing and is later found dead. The FBI are called in and think that Maddie had something to do with it. When Maddie sees that the death date of a cheerleader that Stubby has a crush on is the following week, Stubby tries to warn her. When she goes missing and is later found dead, the FBI start looking at Stubby. There is quite a bit of circumstantial evidence against Stubby – it is all explainable – but still enough for Stubby to be arrested and put into jail. Will Maddie be next? Can she convince the FBI that she and Stubby aren’t involved? What about the real serial killer?

Link to Amazon.com(available in Hardcover, Paperback and Kindle Edition)

“I sighed. Sugar isn’t the easiest name to be slapped with, I’ll tell you. I was supposed to get named Susannah. I was supposed to be born in a hospital, too, but my whole life started as one big surprise when I got born in the back of a Chevy in the parking lot of the Sugar Shack in Baton Rouge in a rainstorm so bad, my parents couldn’t make it to the hospital. When I popped out and Reba saw the Sugar Shack sign, she felt it was a sign from God; right then I got my name. At least God told her to stop at Sugar. Sugar Shack Cole would have been a chore to live with. As for Mr. Leeland, he got the thrill of helping me be born, and believe me, he hasn’t done squat to help since.”

Sugar Cole calls her parents Reba and Mr. Leeland. Mr. Leeland has a gambling problem and is gone way more than he’s around. He also spends more of Sugar and her mom’s money than he contributes. Sugar Cole is a character – she is always writing – and she never forgets all the advice her grandpa gave her over the years before his death. She is strong and doesn’t let the bullying at school get her down. She befriends her English teacher, Mr. Bennett, who encourages her to keep writing and is always lifting her up (don’t we all need someone like that?). Reba and Sugar get evicted from their home and find themselves in a new town and homeless. This is the breaking point for Reba and she ends up in the hospital. Sugar ends up in a foster home and learns what it’s like to live in a stable environment. She loves her new home but she loves her mom. You’ll have to read for yourself to see what happens. I think you’ll like it. This story is full of letters and e-mails written by Sugar, Mr. B, and her mom. It will make you laugh and it will make you cry. Give it a try.

“The known facts surrounding the shooting death of sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson are few. On the evening of June 2, at approximately 5:30 P.M., Johnson sustained two nine-millimeter gunshot wounds to the torso. Police officers arrived at 5:37 P.M. Johnson was pronounced dead at 6:02 P.M. by EMTs at the scene. Police apprehended a person of interest, Jack Franklin, who was present when Johnson was shot but left the scene in a borrowed vehicle shortly afterward. Franklin was pulled over nearly four miles away from the site of the shooting, at 5:56 P.M. A nine-millimeter handgun, recently fired, was found in the back seat.“

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—When 16-year-old Tariq, a black teen, is shot and killed by a white man, every witness has a slightly different perception of the chain of events leading up to the murder. Family, friends, gang members, neighbors, and a well-meaning but self-serving minster make up the broad cast of characters. The police bring their own personal biases to their investigation of the case. When all points of view are combined, the story of a young man emerges and with it, a narrative that plays out in communities across the country every day. Heartbreaking and unputdownable, this is an important book about perception and race. How It Went Down reads very much like Julius Lester’s Day of Tears (Hyperion, 2005) in a modern setting and for an older audience. With a great hook and relatable characters, this will be popular for fans of realistic fiction. The unique storytelling style and thematic relevance will make it a potentially intriguing pick for classroom discussion.—Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Link to Amazon.com(Available in Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle, and Audible)

Awards

Chris Peeler

Hi!
I am the Media Specialist at Heather Ridge School in Frederick, Maryland and I love it! I graduated from Drexel University with a Masters in Library and Information Science. This blog was one of my assignments. The class is over now but the reading continues. Now I'm reading as many books as possible to share with my middle and high school students. I hope you enjoy reading about these books as much as I enjoyed reading them. Enjoy!